Akuma
Akuma (known in Japan as Gouki) is a character from the Street Fighter series, originally appearing in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and hidden boss. He is also one of Ryu's deadliest enemies/rivals. Backstory Akuma trained under Goutetsu along with his brother Gouken. Goutetsu taught them Ansatsuken (Assassin fist) in the from of karate along with a mixture of judo and koppo. As the brothers progessed under Goutetsu's teachings, a dispute arose on the true nature of Ansatsuken karate and the path to master it. Gouken did not accept the violent nature of their art and left Goutetsu and made his own dojo. Akuma continued to use the art as it was intended to be used for, killing. In order to learn Shun Goku Satsu (Raging Demon), Akuma embraced the Satsui no Hadou (The Surge of Murderous Intent). After he Embraced the Satsui No Hado, Akuma gave up any compassion he held towards other human beings and lost all of his humanity, in addiction, he realized limits as a fighter could be expanded, and left Goutetsu's guidance to train alone on an island known as Gokuento. His Return marked the end of his master, Akuma demonstrated his power by killing his master in a fight. After the fight, Akuma removed the beaded necklace from Goutetsu and placed it on his neck. The following day he challenged his brother to a fight and lost. Akuma requested death in defeat but Gouken did not want to kill his own brother, Akuma said he would return and saw his older brother's weaknesses, showing compassion for those who are strong opponents. Many years later Akuma face his brother again and struck him with Shungokusatsu and believed he had killed his Brother, (Gouken had emptied his soul from the attack and only went into a coma) left the dojo. Ken saw the flash of the attack as was returning from the U.S. Martial Arts tournament, ran to the surrounding woods and searching for the killer. Akuma easily defeated Ken and disappeared. Gouken's other student, Ryu soon learned of his master defeat from Akuma and begin searching for him. Akuma first fought Ryu on his island and discovered the potential to use the the Satsui no Hado within him. Akuma destroyed his island with a karate chop and told him to fight him again when he had embraced the Killing intent to and see who is truly more powerful. After that Akuma went to fight Gen , The former master of Chun-Li and her dead father, as they fought in battle, Akuma had found out that Gen was already dying and was Sick, Akuma, who would find no satisfaction in killing someone who is already dying, stop the fight and disappeared leaving Gen, Akuma was on the Great wall of China and was thinking about the fighters he has fought, and said he would be the next one to die. During the events of Street fighter 2, Akuma fought Bison to see if he was strong enough to face him in battle and even killed him with his Shungokusatsu , after that Akuma went into shadows and train again . During the event of Street Fighter 4, Akuma was meditating and sense something not right, his sense his brother was still alive and went to see if he truly was, Seeing one the destroyed Seth Robots, Akuma realized that his brother was truly alive, as he walked towards his brother he found that Gouken had locked up the Killing intent within Ryu who was unconscious. Akuma became angry and attack him with Shungokusatsu, Gouken was unaffected the attack by using the power of nothiness and Akuma was excited, he then challenged his brother to a battle to the death to decide who truly claims Ryu (it is most likely that Gouken Won the fighter scene he was alive after the battle but did want to kill his brother) After that Akuma continued his training. In the events of street fighter 3, Akuma fought Gill to see how strong he truly is and even killed him, but Gill has brought himself back to life without Akuma knowing, in one of his endings, he destroyed Ayers Rock with his new move, Kong Kokuretsu Zan, In another of his endings he destroyed a U.S. submarine underwater with people inside it.It appears that Akuma will not stop his training for anybody who doesn't know there passing by him. Akuma follows the code of the warrior, a set of beliefs to which he is dedicate to. These beliefs however, don't include any excess concern for the well being of his opponent or anybody else. He seeks out fights to the death for the purpose of advancing his own personal enlightenment, and while he doesn't randomly kill people outside of martial duels, he is absolutely ruthless and unconcerned with any collateral damage to his own training (hence the destruction of the Submarine in Street Fighter 3 third strike). Appearance Akuma has red hair, wears prayer beads around his neck, and wears a black belt with a black gi (occasionally displayed as blue in artwork). The kanji 'ten' (天) - meaning "sky", "heaven", or "providence" - can be seen on his back when it appears during certain win animations. Capcom had stated that the symbol on his back meant "immortal" for Akuma even though there are many different translations. Chronologically as of Street Fighter II, Akuma now also wears sandals, and his pants are often torn revealing his ankles in Street Fighter IV (due to possible intense training). He also as of Street Fighter IV chronologically, he also wears a rope in the place of his belt instead. In his Cyber-Akuma form, a mechanical eye covers the right side of his face and he gains an abnormally large, cybernetic right arm. Underneath his gi, the right side of his pectorals are covered up by a mechanical shell. He also wears light blue geta sandals as opposed to his plain sandals while in his human form. Gameplay While some people often refer to Akuma as a shoutouclone (characters who fight identically or similar to Ryu by utilizing his attacks), he has more than enough moves to distinguish himself from his lighter counterpart, utilizing a very different playstyle. Back in his earlier appearances, Akuma/Gouki simply had his moves as a combination of both Ryu and Ken's; his Hadouken was both as slow and strong, his Shouryuuken did multiple hits with Ryu's damage, and his Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku did multiple hits like Ken's and knockdown like Ryu's, giving him juggle capabilities. His overpowered damage output was balanced by giving him very low health, making him a classic example of a Glass Cannon in most of his appearances after most of Street Fighter II. His low health storywise is shown to be Akuma holding back his true power in order to enjoy his fights. Most of his recent versions are often balanced, though some game-breaking tools still tend to exist. In his first appearance in the series in X-Men: Children of the Atom, Akuma is rather similar to his Super Street Fighter II Turbo counterpart (basically his first original form) in sprite and all. He can only be played with a secret code in the console version, and unlike before he was already somewhat balanced for the game. His later appearances as of X-Men vs. Street Fighter would take more after his Street Fighter Alpha/Zero counterpart complete with his low health and high damage, but with his Hyakkishuu removed. His unique moves usually involve closing the gap between his enemies while at same time, getting through their defenses, and are generally centered around cornering his opponents into a lockdown, along with some mixup from his Hyakkishuu in some installments he appears in. This, coupled with his infamous unblockable Shun Goku Satsu attack and his Zugai Hasatsu gives him a great offensive mixup and wakeup game. Along with his Gou Hadouken and Gou Shouryuuken attacks, he can also achieve the same playstyle as Ryu and Ken, only more powerful. His Ashura Senkuu is also one of his maingame tools as a teleport, though later games have made it easier to counter. In past Vs. Capcom games, Akuma also has some of Ryu and Ken's weaknesses, in that he is often overshadowed by most of the other characters in terms of range, but his combos in later games and in the past alike where just as basic as the starter duo of Street Fighter, and this also nets him great damage output, and can even land a chuck of it on the infamous Sentinel (who has the highest defense in MVC2). In MVC3, his Hyakkishuu now has returned with two of its moves removed and as well as being able to perform the Zankuu Hadouken during it for more mindgame potential. His Hyakki Goujin assist also nets him some nasty OTG setups for most characters with good overhead trap options, and despite his similar problems of air-to-ground tools like Ryu in terms of his normals, Zankuu Hadouken has always been a strong lockdown, wakeup, approach and keep away tool in many installments ever since Street Fighter II. His Shun Goku Satsu was also rather slow in past games, leading to Akuma/Gouki to often score a setup such as a knockdown in order to trap the foe properly, though in MVC3 due to the buffed speed, this is no longer much of the problem. Also, unlike Ryu, most of his normals are not much the same as Ryu's in terms of the new allocation in MVC3, and most of them happen to be lacking in long range. This forces Akuma to find strong approach options in order to get in and deal his damage at its best. His Messatsu Gou Hadou was always a difficult super to use due to its command even in the MVC series, but like its SF III version, in MVC3 it now has a simple quarter circle command as opposed to a half circle. Both his Messatsu Gou Hadou and Tenma Gou Zankuu now have two forms in MVC3, with Agyou being a multitude of ki blasts and Ungyou being a ki beam like with the previous MVC Messatsu Gou Hadou. Also unlike most characters, Akuma now benefits from all of his throws; any of them can score an instant knockdown within range to set up for an instant Tenma Gou Zankuu OTG in Ungyou form. His Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku was once of the few moves that could be spammed for an infinite due to its massive hitstun (by spamming it during a forward jump towards the foe consecutively). This caused a patch to be made to nerf it in the vanilla version, though its usage for combos in assist overshadowed his Hyakki Goujin assist, making most powerful point characters such as Wolverine even more devastating in their combos. In UMVC3, Akuma/Gouki's health was nerfed 50,000 more from 800,000 to 750,000, and his infamous Tatsumaki was nerfed in knockdown, priority and knocked foes futher back, losing most of its combo potential. On the upside, his Hyakki Shuu can now be done in midair, with the added tip of his Messatsu Gou Hadou, Tenma Gou Zankuu and Shun Goku Satsu all being button mashable. (Note: Spellings are not in line with the official game version's spelling, and use the extra "o" and "u" romanizations instead.) Command Normals & Special Attacks *'Zugai Hasatsu (''Skull Crushing Killer):' A slow chop attack that hits overhead aimed to the skull of the target. In MVC3, it can now ground bounce midair/juggled foes. *'Senpuukyaku (Whirlwind Leg):' A leaping spin kick attack that's a more basic form of the Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku, Ryu also possesess it, but does not use it in MVC3/TvC. Can go over low attacks. *'Gou Hadouken (Strong Surge Fist):' A original past version of the Hadouken. Fires a burning ball of flaming purple demonic ki from his palms, but has a bit of delay before he tosses it. In past games, it was the size of it's original SF incarnations, but in MVC3 the projectile is now as big as Ryu's version. *'Zankuu Hadouken (Slashing' Air Surge Fist''): A midair variation of the Hadouken, where Akuma/Gouki fires a ki blast from a single hand in midair. Can now perform during Hyakkishuu as the Hyakki Gouhou. Can hit OTG in past games. In some installments and usually in Akuma's more powerful forms, he can fire two at once from alternating palms. *'Gou Shouryuuken (''Strong Rising Dragon Fist): A rising uppecut attack that does multiple hits, said to be the "original Shouryuuken" with the "killing touch". *'Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku (''Tornado Slashing Air Leg): A flying spinning kick attack on a rotating axis on an invisible ki tornado. If used in midair, the L/A version moves on an arc, while the H/C version flies across, just like Ryu's. This attack is enhanced version of the original Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku. and can''' leap over low-angled attacks. Like in the original pre-MVC3 games, this move sports lightning effects. This attack knocked down foes like Ryu's version and could do multiple hits like Ken's, giving him juggle capabilities. In MVC3, the midair versions do not knockdown. *'Tenma Kuujinkyaku (''Evil Spirit Air Blade Leg): Akuma performs a dive kick at the apex of his jump with his foot's outer metatarsal portion like a blade. It is often a command normal that only done during a forward jump, although in the MVC series Akuma has it as a special move that can be done any time in midair and does multiple hits with a air combo/aerial rave finish effect on midair foes. MVC3 converts it back into a command normal with no special hitting effects. *'Ashura Senkuu (''Fighting Demon Flashing Air):' Akuma with great ki control, phases through his opponent in a one-legged stance, can warp left or right. His dash animation is ripped from this. *'Hyakkishuu (Hundred Demons Assault):' Akuma's flying variable move, takes a small leap and is able to perform these moves to mixup is opponents when applying pressure.... **'Hyakki Gouzan (Hundred Demons Powerful Slash):' When the player inputs nothing during the Hyakkishuu, Akuma/Gouki lands with a low-hitting sweeping slide kick. Now has purple fire effects that apply to all Hyakkishuu follow-ups, though it does not appear in MVC3. **'Hyakki Goushou (Hundred Demons Powerful Pierce) -''' Akuma/Gouki pierce punches the opponent during the Hyakkishuu. Hits overhead, and now ground bounces in MVC3. **'Hyakki Goujin (''Hundred Demons Powerful Blade):' Dive kick attack. Basically a Hyakkishuu version of Tenma Kuujinkyaku. Hits overhead, and now can either knockdown or ground bounce foes in MVC3 with an OTG property. **'Hyakki Gousai/Hyakki Gou Tsui''' (Hundred Demons Powerful Smash/Hundred Demons Powerful Crash): Midair throw attack, can be performed on a grounded or midair opponent, Gousai is on a grounded opponent, where Akuma can flip over the foe and toss them in a forward somersaulting throw. Gou Tsui is if opponent jumps next to Akuma he can piledrive them with a smash on the foe's head on Akuma's knee. Used as a tick throw if opponent gets rather defensive on the other follow ups. Does not appear in MVC3. **'Hyakki Gouhou (''Hundred Demons Powerful Cannon):' New move in MVC3. A variation of the Zankuu Hadouken where Akuma performs it during the Hyakkishuu. *'Zenpou Tenshin (Forward Rolling):' Akuma/Gouki shares this move with Ken, in that he does a simple tucking roll forward. Button used determines the distance he rolls, and is utilized in fakeouts and crossups. It stops appearing in his moveset as of SF III, and does not have it in MVC3. *'Jigoku Guruma (Hell Wheel):' One of Akuma's old basic throws which is a traditional Hell Wheel throw (the user grabs the foe and tumbles with them in a curled position and releases them with a back falling throw). Ken also has this move, but in MVC2 oddly it appears as a command throw, though Akuma/Gouki needs to be in very close to even activate the move due to it overlapping with the Zankuukyaku's command. Assists in MvC2 Assists in MvC3 Hyper Combos *'Messatsu Gou Hadou (Annihilating Strong Surge) (Level 1):' An enhanced version of the Shinku Hadouken. Akuma fires a flaming beam of ki from his palms (it was a large multi-hitting ball of ki in past games). Both the Messatsu Gou Hadou and Tenma Gou Zankuu have two forms in MVC3, the Agyou (Flattering Form), and Ungyou (Growling Form). The former is a stream of multiple Gouhadoukens in rapid succession. The latter, done by holding down H (Heavy Attack) during the M.G.H/T.M.G.Z.K.'s executions, is a concentrated beam like the aforementioned past MVC series Messatsu Gou Hadou. *'Tenma Gou Zankuu (Evil Spirit Strong Slashing Air) (Level 1):' Akuma in midair shoots many Zanku Hadokens out of his hands. In most outside Marvel vs. Capcom games, like the Messatsu Gou Hadou it was a large ki ball instead. Can OTG in past games, but in MVC3, only the Ungyou version can OTG instead. *'Messatsu Gou Shouryuu (Annihilating Strong Rising Dragon) (Level 1):' Akuma peforms multiple Gou Shouryuukens on the opponent, burning them with dark purple flames. A stronger version of Ken Masters' Shouryuu Reppa (Rising Dragon Rending Breaker). Used to lack flame effects in past games, and Evil Ryu has a stronger version of it in '''SSFIV: AE' where after rising on the final blow, gathers a dark ball of energy, absorbs it then crushes his foes face to the ground in midair. Akuma has yet to acheive usage of that version. *'Messatsu Gou Rasen (Annihilating Strong Spiral) (Level 1):' A upward-rising Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku that sucks in the opponent. Appears in SFIII and MVC2, and is an enhanced version of the Tatsumaki Gou Rasen (Tornado Strong Spiral) in SFIV and SSFIV used by Gouken. *'Messatsu Gou Senpuu (Annihilating Strong Whirlwind) (Level 1) -' A midair version of Messatsu Gou Rasen that appears in SFIII and MVC2. *'Shun Goku Satsu (Instant Hell Murder) (Level 3) ''- Trademark super and the most powerful technique for those who have fully tapped into the Satsui no Hadou. Akuma/Gouki poses then warps via Ashura Senkuu towards the opponent to grab them. The screen flashes with light and violent strikes are seen 'as the might of the 16 hells bombard the foe' while the screen is blacked out. Akuma/Gouki and the opponent reappear, with the opponent face-down on the ground covered in violet flames and the kanji character for 'heaven' is burning in the background (this happens of the opponent is K.O.ed from the attack, but it now appears whenever the move connects in MVC3). This move is unblockable in all appearances and now in MVC3 happens much faster than in previous installments that include this attack. X-Factor Changes in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 *Health decreased to 750,000. * Opponent can now automatically tech from Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku. * Decreased priority of Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku. * Increased horizontal knockback range of Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku. * Hyakkishuu can be done in the air. * Hyakki Goushou no longer hits overhead. *Additional hits can be added to Messatsu Gou Hadou (both versions), Tenma Gou Zankuu (both versions) and Shun Goku Satsu through rapid buttons presses. Theme Song thumb|left|300px Akuma's theme song is a remix of his Secret boss fight from his first appearance in '''Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Trailer thumb|300px|left Special Quotes Mech-Gouki/Cyber Akuma This version of Akuma/Gouki was a secret boss in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, meant to be an alternate nod to Shin Akuma/Gouki (True Akuma/Gouki). This version was concieved when Akuma was kidnapped by Apocalypse, and transformed him into one of his Horsemen of Death. In this form, Akuma moves faster with being able to attack with larger-sized Hadoukens the size of Ryu's. He could also attack with his rocket arm where it would fly fast but not in a straight pattern, making it a bit difficult to dodge at times. All of his attack names have changed, such as the Shun Goku Satsu being renamed the "Shining Gou Shock", as well as being able to use said Shun Goku Satsu in midair (an ability which would be passed onto Oni in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition). Trivia *Akuma's alternate color schemes are based on the recurrent "Blonde" Shin Akuma alt, Oni and a mixture of purple hair/red gi similar to other schemes he's used. Ultimate schemes include his Street Fighter III look (with graying hair), and his pre-order DLC costume is Cyber-Akuma. *His win quote against Wolverine is a reference to his role in the X-Men storyline "The Twelve", and consequentially his being the True Final Boss of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: "Apocalypse once deemed you worthy of being his Horseman of Death? I really must beg to differ." * A design of both Akuma and Ryu can be found in the background of the Hand HQ stage. * Akuma's considered the first character to debut in the Cross-Over series, since he is a secret character on X-Men: Children of Atom, making him the very first Street Fighter/Capcom character to appear in a Marvel related game. * He is one of four unlockable characters in MvC3, along with Sentinel, Hsien-Ko, and Taskmaster. To unlock Akuma, players must obtain 2,000 Player Points. * Akuma is one of the sub bosses in Cosmic Form before fighting Galactus. The other sub bosses are Doctor Doom, Albert Wesker and Dormammu. * Akuma's ending features him noting that no one else is left to rival him on Earth and prepares to journey through the galaxy to find a worthy challenger, leaving behind the bodies of Ryu, Wolverine, Captain America, Chun-Li, and Spider-man. * Akuma was shown alongside Taskmaster, because they both have fighting styles of other fighters. However, Akuma is the overused Shoutou style shared by many Street Fighter characters (Ryu/Ken/Dan/Sean), while Taskmaster is a mix of a bunch of Marvel character fighting moves (in this game specifically Captain America/Spider/Hawkeye) due to his photographic reflexes. Akuma also uses the style to its full killing peak left intact. * Akuma is the only character to not call any character by their real name. He instead refers to them with nondescript monikers reflecting what they are: ** "Boy!" = Male characters ** "Girl!" = Female characters ** "Devil!" = Inhuman or deity-like characters (Such as Dormammu, Amaterasu or Shuma-Gorath) ** "Puppet!" (Manipulated/manipulable characters such as Jill or Zero) ** "Junk!" (Manufactured chracters such as Nemesis or Sentinel) ** "Vermin!" (Rocket Raccoon) * In addition to the name calling, for some reason he calls Amaterasu a "Devil", which is the complete opposite of what Amaterasu is (although she was refered to as the "White Demon of Death" by the Blockhead clan in Okami). * When performing his Messatsu Gou Hadou or Tenma Gou Zankuu hyper comboes in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, one can faintly hear the sound similar to children laughing whilst as Akuma gathers energy. * Akuma's 3rd costume (2nd alternate) is his Oni form from Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, in the "what-if?" scenario of the Satsui No Hadou consuming him completely. * Akuma has appeared in some form or fashion in all the Vs. games excluding Marvel Super Heroes. Artwork XMvsSFAkuma.JPG|X-Men vs. Street Fighter. MarSFAkuma.JPG|Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter MarCap2Akuma.JPG|Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes 230px-Akuma_MvsC3-FTW.png|Original Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Artwork Colors9.JPG|Akuma's alternate colors in UMvC3 E3f9b39a763f2ff51d162156e133a8c0.jpg|Cyber-Akuma (Mech-Gouki) DLC costume 6501930bebd7a98b20fa5f4eeb8a58a8.png|Akuma Winning Pose. s_gouki00_bm_nomip_s_gouki00_bm_nomipout.png|Akuma Full Victory Pose 401049_253399204740968_143032932444263_589335_1601055860_n.jpg|Akuma Wallpaper. Akuma 1.png|umvc3 ending 1 Akuma 2.png|umvc3 ending 2 Also See Akuma's moves in Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes Akuma's moves in Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Akuma's moves in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 Category:MvC3 Characters Category:MvC2 Characters Category:Street Fighter Characters Category:Capcom Characters Category:Characters Category:Boss Characters Category:Secret Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Shoto Characters Category:Akuma Category:X-Men: COTA Characters Category:XMvSF Characters Category:UMvC3 Characters Category:Neutral Alignment Category:Evil Alignment Category:MvC3 Secret Characters Category:MvC2 Secret Characters